Scottish Rugby wants 25,000 at BT Murrayfield for Six Nations matches

The Scottish Rugby Union has sought permission from the Scottish Government to have 25,000 fans at BT Murrayfield for home matches in next year’s Six Nations.

BT Murrayfield was empty for last weekend's Autumn Nations Cup match between Scotland and France. Picture: Craig Williamson / SNS

Scotland are due to play three matches in the championship in Edinburgh, against Wales on February 13, Ireland on March 14 and Italy on March 20.

The SRU has also asked for a crowd of 5,000 at the 1872 Cup/Pro14 match between Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors at Murrayfeld on January 2 and is looking to “work up to 10,000” for another unspecified pro-team match at the stadium before the Six Nations.

Murrayfield has a capacity of over 67,000 and the SRU thinks this would allow supporters to be safely distanced in these Covid-affected times. But the 25,000 target seems ambitious in the current circumstances. Scottish Rugby says, “statistics from Government show infection rates have reached a peak and are currently on a downward slope”.

Fans have been absent from Scottish rugby since the sport resumed at an elite level, except for the match between Edinburgh and Glasgow on August 28 which was attended by around 700 supporters as a test event.

The SRU has not pursued the return of fans at Glasgow’s Scotstoun ground due to the city’s Tier 4 status.

A statement from Scottish Rugby said: “This week we submitted another pack to the Scottish Government around graduated crowds.

“Overall, we have a plan previously approved by Government and further refined. It has been well tested and as we continue to align with all Government requests, we believe we are ready as soon as the Government allows to welcome spectators back to our venues.

“We have made a specific ask for a crowd of 5,000 at the 1872 match between Edinburgh Rugby and Glasgow Warriors on 2 January and are looking to work up to 10,000 for a pro-club game at BT Murrayfield prior to the Guinness Six Nations, at which we would hope to have 25,000 spectators at each of our home matches v Wales, Italy and Ireland.

“With the present restrictions in the city of Glasgow, it will not be possible to welcome spectators back to Scotstoun, but we will continue to monitor the picture there and work closely with Government and our partners at Glasgow Life.”

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.